Firestar's Quest - What if Sandstorm crossed the fallen tree first?
by Smokestripe
Summary: Firestar, in Firestar's quest, regretted that he went first crossing the fallen tree. What if Sandstorm crossed first? -ONESHOT-


Lightning crackled across the sky again, clawing at a beech tree on top of the bank. Thunder rolled out, and a deep groaning sound answered from the tree. The top began to tilt, slowly at first, then faster and faster, as the tree fell across the river, the highest branches crashing down on the opposite bank. Firestar and Sandstorm leaped back as sharp, whipping twigs lashed the path where they had been standing. The two cats crouched on the flooded path until the noise died away. As the fallen tree rustled into silence, Sandstorm rose cautiously to her paws. "I'll cross first to see if it's safe." Firestar began to protest but shut his mouth. "Wait for me here," she meowed "I'll check the other bank. It doesn't look so wet over there." She gazed at Firestar, cold, for a moment waiting for him to reply. Then he nodded abruptly "Okay." The falling tree seemed to have ended their quarrel –for now. Sandstorm climbed onto the tree trunk. The first few paw steps were easy, but the farther she got the narrower the trunk got. As the branches came she had to climb over them. She flinched as water splashed onto the tree. She looked down into the dark swirling water below. Terrified that she was going to fall in, the last few steps were shaky. Once she landed on the dry land she turned around and called out to Firestar "Its okay! You can-"A rumbling sound interrupted her. At first she thought it was thunder, but it grew louder and louder. Firestar was staring upstream, his eyes stretched wide with horror. Sandstorm whipped around. A huge wave was bearing down on them, brown and topped with foam, bearing sticks and debris along with it, roaring louder than any monster. Sandstorm let out a screech of shock. Dashing to the nearest tree, she leaped up and sank her claws into the tree then the wave was upon her. It surged past, swirling over the tree trunk less than a tail-length below him. Water splattered her fur. Sandstorm clung there until the wave passed. When she climbed down she stared at the river in horror. The fallen tree had been swept away. _How will Firestar cross now?_ As she looked to the opposite bank a cold claw sank into her heart. Firestar was gone. "Firestar!?" she yowled. There was no response only the sound of the river. "No!" she yowled. "Firestar! Firestar! Where are you!?" there was still no reply. She ran up and down the bank, yowling her mate's name over and over again. She couldn't see any trace of his flame colored pelt anywhere. She raced down the bank looking for any trace of his pelt. _You stupid excuse for a cat! _If Firestar had died it'd be all her fault. What if he got lost? How he would he find his way back to ThunderClan? She was panicking and all of these thoughts were running through her head making her dizzy. She had slowed her pace and thought _right now he's lying there, hurt and probably lost a life and it's my fault. he's disoriented and does not know where to go. _She found herself in the middle of the Two-Leg Place. She hissed "it's like a maze in here!" she jumped on a garden fence and tried to locate the river. "it's moonhigh I might as well rest here in this garden" she jumps into the garden and finds a nice patch of grass to rest in. before she could settle, she spotted a bird hopping about trying to grab a worm. She stalked the bird and killed it with a swift bite to its neck. Thanking StarClan for the life of the prey, she then found herself asleep. She woke up to a hiss in her ear. "Who are you!? What are you doing in my garden!?" before she could reply the tortoiseshell kittypet attacked her. _That was a mistake_ she thought to herself. Easily dodging her paw strikes she clawed and bit her opponent till the kittypet ran back to its owners. "that'll teach you to mess with a ThunderClan warrior!" she called as the kittypet fled. The two-legs were outraged and picked Sandstorm up by the scruff of her neck. She hissed and clawed but the Two-legs didn't let up. The Two-legs were shouting things at her she couldn't understand until a another cat ran up to the Two-leg and pawed its legs as a distraction. She fled the Two-leg garden and into another without looking back. "maybe this kittypet will be a little more welcoming" she growled. With no sign of any kittypet she rested in a shaded area in the garden. She woke to the sound of her name. "Firestar?" she whispered. She heard a warning growl then a hiss and she knew a fight was bound to happen. She raced to where the sounds were coming from and found Firestar pinned to the ground by a kittypet. Her immediate instinct was to attack his attacker. She flung her of Firestar. As the kittypet ran away, Sandstorm nuzzled Firestar as she was overwhelmed with relief. "I'm so sorry I didn't know-shh" he silenced her with his tail. "It's okay" he licked her cheek then turned to another cat. "can you show us to the river Shorty?' Firestar meowed. "Yes, of course" the other cat meowed in reply. _He looks oddly familiar. _She thought._ That's right! He's the one who distracted the Two-leg._ "thank you for helping me." She meowed. "No problem" he replied looking ahead. They maneuvered through the Two-leg Maze with ease. "Thank you for all your help Shorty" Firestar meowed. "I hope we meet again" Shorty meowed. "Me too" Firestar replied. And they went their separate paths


End file.
